i hate brokers. (now i 'm ready to take your money :P)

Subject: Re: i hate brokers. so i dont want people to waste money on

armchair_warrior wrote: so how do i do a credit check on people? is there a site where i can input peoples names and ss numbers into or something and how much is it?

my buildings is about to be done.

Yup, what a broker is doing in a simple arrangement between the little guy and the little guy I've never understood.

Couldn't you just insist that the prospective client deliver their own credit report? It's free and easy for them, not for you. With the alternative of an extra month's security deposit or guarantor since not everyone has a credit history.

cuurious.....what are you going to have for rent and where?

WhyFi wrote: Oh, one other thing - rental history doesn't show on the report, yet it's the one piece of info that you're most interested in.

This was one thing that has annoyed me during every apartment hunt I've undertaken in New York. Potential landlored rarely care whether you have good rental references. I have contact info for every landlord I've had for the last ten years, and every single one of them has given me back my full security deposit and would give me a great reference if anyone bothered to call.

The place where I am now did ask for a reference from my most recent landlord but didn't bother to contact any of the others. I'm glad he gave me a good reference, because I wasn't leaving on the best terms -- I had always paid the rent on time, but I was moving because he'd jacked up the rent considerably, and I'd had to struggle with him numerous times over repairs when I lived there.

My credit isn't great, but I ALWAYS pay my rent on time, and I suspect that's the case for lots of people. I'd suggest that you ask for rental references from any potential tenants, and call the last two or three landlords. That should help give you some sense of how people might be as tenants, and it would be better than talking to any one single landlord, who may or may not be a decent person.

paying a credit check fee is no big deal -- and it's true that the print-outs can be forged easily. (hell, they already look forged, half the time.) in the past, we have brought copies of our credit report to potential landlords as a quick "look-we're-fine" measure, but we certainly have not objected to paying for the LL to run his own check to confirm ours were true.

but paying broker fees IS a big deal. i applaud your trying to keep brokers out of it. (what's more, i'm pretty sure we had to pay the broker a fee AND pay for the LL's credit check last time. quel drag.)

my friend is looking for a place in prospect heighs as well.
yes, please PM me if you are looking for a tenant who has a stable job, pay rent on time and very clean!

Idlewild wrote: As far as another landlord's good opinion of the potential renter-who cares? Suppose the landlod wants to get rid of the tenant? Will the former landlord tell you not to take him/her?

Which is why I suggested checking with the last two or three landlords, see. Why would someone you rented from in the past have any need to lie about you?

The other suggestions I can understand -- I just hate when landlords rely solely on credit reports. A LOT of people have shitty credit and are still perfectly good tenants. I may have screwed up my credit when I was younger but I don't mess with my living situation.

Ask for two thow!

Idlewild wrote:
Because I'm not looking for someone's good or bad opinion. I just want to make sure they can pay the rent and haven't been to court numerous times with their former landlords. Strictly business.

How would you assess a prospective tenant who comes to New York for well-paid work from another country, where they previously lived in a coop they owned for many years? (no credit history, no rent checks, no former landlord, solid employment and finances).

I've previously played both roles in this situation. The 'rules' in New York come as a big surprise and hurdle to people relocating here for work. Which is a lot of people, given that over a third of the city's residents are born overseas.

Idlewild wrote: [quote=apollonia666][quote=Idlewild]As far as another landlord's good opinion of the potential renter-who cares? Suppose the landlod wants to get rid of the tenant? Will the former landlord tell you not to take him/her?

Which is why I suggested checking with the last two or three landlords, see. Why would someone you rented from in the past have any need to lie about you?

The other suggestions I can understand -- I just hate when landlords rely solely on credit reports. A LOT of people have shitty credit and are still perfectly good tenants. I may have screwed up my credit when I was younger but I don't mess with my living situation.

Because I'm not looking for someone's good or bad opinion. I just want to make sure they can pay the rent and haven't been to court numerous times with their former landlords. Strictly business. As a landlord you can always decide to not take someone if you feel their personality rubs you the wrong way after they pass the credit check, IRS and history muster.

I feel like this response pretty much ignores what I'm saying here.

Again, I don't think landlords should rely on credit reports ALONE. And talking to a previous landlord can certainly be a way of finding out whether the person has been able to pay rent.

Subject: Re: HHHHMMMMM

Bellaja wrote: Well...I am looking to return to New York, uh Brooklyn after many years. I have mortgages on two homes, one office lease, all paid on time, am self-employed but have a crummy credit history, due to losses in recent divorce. Sounds dicey getting apps accepted.

Well, for what it's worth, I did manage to get accepted for my current place in spite of the landlord being concerned about my credit history. I had to write him a letter explaining it -- how the debt accumulated (supporting a deadbeat husband right after college while I was working on a really low salary), pointing out how no new debt had accumulated for several years, pointing out the payments I've made on past debts, and showing how my income is now much higher than it was when I did incur debt). Don't know if I would have been accepted had the credit problems been more recent. I sure did have to grovel quite a bit.

Idlewild wrote: If they lived in a coop wouldn't they have maintanence checks? If they can prove tht the job they have is well paying to cover rent that is also a plus and if they can get a co-signer (American) and the co-signer can show they have the funds o cover the rneter's delinquency then that's something to consider. I have to say though that I never ran into that problem. Most renters who were from overseas managed to give me what I have asked for

According to legend, my ancestors kept something called a 'chequebook' from which they could write 'personal cheques', but these were considered archaic, insecure, and were basically extinct by the time I moved out of home. The first personal check I ever wrote was to my new landlord in New York. Before that it was cash to owner, cash to realtor, direct deduction from paycheck to owner-employer, direct deposit or cash by housemate who got cash from us though we were all on the lease, coop maintenance payment by direct deposit by common law partner, all bills paperless, etc.etc. Receipts weren't needed in places with very low fraud, though if I'd known one day I'd move here I guess I could have asked for them and kept them. After 15 years of paying my rent and bills on time under various arrangements in different countries, and not needing more than a deposit, proof of employment and maybe a background check in the local real estate blacklist database to get a place, much less something called a 'credit report' or paying by 'personal check', it didn't occur to me that a different kind and level of documentation would be customary here, so I didn't bring any and had very little to bring, plus it would need translation. And how would I find an American to co-sign straight off the plane?

Which is why I suggest letting to someone who fronts up with a high salary, healthy bank balance, and a foreign passport with fresh visa and work permit for the duration of the lease, on condition that either their workplace guarantees payment or they provide an extra month's security deposit. People invited here to work are likely to be a pretty good bet.

apollonia666 wrote: [quote=Idlewild][quote=apollonia666][quote=Idlewild]As far as another landlord's good opinion of the potential renter-who cares? Suppose the landlod wants to get rid of the tenant? Will the former landlord tell you not to take him/her?

Which is why I suggested checking with the last two or three landlords, see. Why would someone you rented from in the past have any need to lie about you?

The other suggestions I can understand -- I just hate when landlords rely solely on credit reports. A LOT of people have shitty credit and are still perfectly good tenants. I may have screwed up my credit when I was younger but I don't mess with my living situation.

Because I'm not looking for someone's good or bad opinion. I just want to make sure they can pay the rent and haven't been to court numerous times with their former landlords. Strictly business. As a landlord you can always decide to not take someone if you feel their personality rubs you the wrong way after they pass the credit check, IRS and history muster.

I feel like this response pretty much ignores what I'm saying here.

Again, I don't think landlords should rely on credit reports ALONE. And talking to a previous landlord can certainly be a way of finding out whether the person has been able to pay rent.

I'm not ignoring what you're saying at all. What I'm saying is I not only go by credit reports but by other stuff too....the renter's former landlord's good or bad opinion not being of any use to me. Not all landlords go by my standards. Some insist on references even if the prospect's credit is bad. And bad credit is subject to opinion. If I were to apply for a rental I'd be turned down flat based on my credit. The City took me to court ove parking tickets and I forgot to cancel several cc's that I got when I tried to build up my credit rating. However, if I were to apply for a rental based on a former landlord's opinion of me, well, I'd be adopted into the future landlord's familia.